Latosa Escrima classes once a week? Does that work?

:5yo:

Any guys with Escrima experience out there? If so, I have a question for you. I just heard about a Latosa Escrima class in the NorthWest Miami area on Saturdays only. The class is about 1 1/2 hour at $15 per class. The school's website is this : http://www.ebmasflorida.com/classes.html

For one thing, this is cool (well, kinda) because it's on my way to my parents and sisters homes down in Miami which I visit every Saturday - so the day, time and location is extremelly convenient, plus it seems affordable.

BUT...

Is it really feasible to learn Escrima with only one 1 1/2 hour lesson per week???? I'm gonna check it out next Saturday, plus the instructor e-mailed me back offering a no-obligation charge-free first class. So I'm gonna do it, plus it's just $15 bucks for something new.

However, I wanna be pragmatic and know what I can expect or not from this 1-class-per-week approach. If any of you guys have any experience with Escrima or with class arragenments like this, I'd appreciate your feedback.

The street argument is retarded. BJJ is so much overkill for the street that its ridiculous. Unless you're the idiot that picks a fight with the high school wrestling team, barring knife or gun play, the opponent shouldn't make it past double leg + ground and pound - Osiris

Yes. You'll be able to practice a lot of your strikes and stuff against a standard punching bag, and do exercises to build up wrist strength and accuracy on your own. Get a friend and teach them basic exercises and have them be a good sparring partner/technique dummy for doing things like disarms and so they can feed you attacks to work on defenses and combinations.

Then, make the most of your once a week session by paying attention, taking good notes, and working your ass off.

Yeah, I take about a 1.5-2 hr class 1x a week (soon to be 2x as soon as he starts a sunday class) but then I practice the new techniques when I'm standing around at work, watching tv, at the bank, at the mall, whenever. I must look totally retarded doing it but my teacher told me you really have to take the bull by the horns and seek to learn it in the off time between classes to become proficient. In that respect, it's also obvious who does what I do and who just goes 1x a week and is done with it - the ones who constantly train are quickly moving away from the pack.

Hmmm, guys, I'm sold. I was going to take the class regardless, but given your input, then it should be realistic of me to expect to learn the art with one class a week ... so long as I work my ass off out of class instead of simply "going to class".

The street argument is retarded. BJJ is so much overkill for the street that its ridiculous. Unless you're the idiot that picks a fight with the high school wrestling team, barring knife or gun play, the opponent shouldn't make it past double leg + ground and pound - Osiris

Read through their site description, seems like aside from the storytelling about his grandfather the Escrima instructor seems to have his head screwed on straight.

He consistently talks about 'doing what works', 'belts don't matter', and plus he's done ju-jitsu/judo. Seems pretty well rounded and is teaching what appears to be the whole of his family's escrima techniques. I like how he's trying to (at least on paper) avoid what most of the good escrima instructors did in the past which is retain their best techniques so they could not be defeated - thus watering down the art.

Yo guys... sorry I haven't updated anything yet. I posponed that a bit since my big toe on my right foot is still fucked up from my last BJJ session, and then I got my right hand all in pain from bag work - I could barely hold a pen for a day. (I keep getting all fucked up on the right side.)

Anyways... I emailed the Latosa escrima instructor, and I'm impressed how candid he was in answering my questions via e-mail regarding price. The instructor (his name is Tom) said that the class is 90 minutes long, and $15 per class. Not bad I think. He also invited me for a free trial class w/o obligations, which I'm going to attend this Saturday... hurray!!!! :hello2:

Most schools give the "why don't you come by and lets discuss what's best for you" sales pitch. But Tom's response was very different, so, so far so good.

On another note, there is another FMA school in South Florida, the Miami Arnis Group (http://www.miamiarnisgroup.com) - You guys know more about this stuff than I do, so I was wondering if you guys could spot any bullshido red-flags in it, or if it looks legit.

The Latosa escrima class is a sure thing in my schedule, and I was planning to go back to Judo on February, but the 'mano a mano' class at The Miami Arnis Group seem interesting... if it's not bull, that is...

The street argument is retarded. BJJ is so much overkill for the street that its ridiculous. Unless you're the idiot that picks a fight with the high school wrestling team, barring knife or gun play, the opponent shouldn't make it past double leg + ground and pound - Osiris

This is Tony of the Miami Arnis Group. I like to take a stab at anwsering some of your questions.

1) I do believe you can become skilled with only one class a week. Of course, only if you train outside of class also. Often other students would like more training time. This is a great opportunity to establish new friendships while getting your "homework" done.

2) Guro Tom and his art both have very good reputations. 90 minutes is a good length for a class. I am sure you'll get a lot out of it.

3) My Mano Y Mano class came by way of a request from my students for more empty hand skills. The flavor is like boxing or kick boxing with all the fouls. Good for street defense, but it can be modified for competition. We include some grappling, but pure grappling is covered in the Jiu jitsu class also taught at the school I teach at or in our Sambo group that meets on Sundays at 11:30 A.M. in Thunder Gym by Miami High.